Barkley said he knows this for a fact because he had private discussions with gay teammates who hadn't come out publicly. “I had several [gay] teammates, I probably had three guys I played with in my 16 years," he said.

Plus, Barkley added, “Think about Jason Collins. He played on six teams, so six teams played with a gay guy. And so, everybody has played with a gay guy, you just didn’t know he was a gay guy. 'Cause until a gay guy comes out, it’s none of your business.”

Collins, a 12-year NBA veteran due to be a free agent this summer, became the first active male athlete in a pro team sport to publicly admit he's gay, when his self-penned article was published last week in Sports Illustrated.